Reassigned Harlandale dance coach resigns

By Francisco Vara-Orta :
June 6, 2013
: Updated: June 6, 2013 9:36pm

A teacher, coach and dance sponsor at Harlandale Independent School District's McCollum High School, placed on leave for seven months this school year after a photo of her on Facebook was deemed inappropriate, has resigned, officials said.

Cassandra Rios was placed on leave last July after school district officials learned that a photo she was tagged in on Facebook showed her eating with students at Dick's Last Resort, all wearing hats scribbled with risqué jokes that the River Walk restaurant's staffers wrote, as is commonly done to patrons there.

Rios had worked for Harlandale five years and helped lead the dance team to a national championship. Her suspension provoked an outcry from parents and students at several board meetings, and a Facebook page supporting her reinstatement drew about 200 members.

One of the seniors in the photo, Jasmine Lopez, said no one drank alcohol at the table.

Rios was allowed to return to work in February, but reassigned to the Frank Tejeda Academy. District officials have declined to explain why the investigation took several months, saying it was a personnel matter.

On Tuesday, Rios addressed the school board, thanking Harlandale for giving her a chance to teach but saying she was treated “unjustly” and the investigation had “jeopardized her career.” She said she plans to return to her hometown of Laredo to continue teaching dance.